Bachmann will seek re-election to Congress

Sixth District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, will seek a fourth term in the 6th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.

Bachmann is fresh off the Republican presidential trail, having recently dropped out after a poor performance in the Iowa Caucus.

Her appearance last weekend at an anti-abortion rally at the State Capitol was the first since dropping out of the race, and one of the few public appearances the congresswoman has had in Minnesota in recent months.

Bachmann now faces reelection in a yet unknown congressional district, a special court redistricting panel not expected to publish its maps of redrawn legislative districts until February.

Bachmann brings a high national profile, Tea Party credentials, campaign dollars to her re-election race.

No other potential Republican congressional candidate emerged over the last months while Bachmann’s future remained uncertain.

No Democratic challenger of name has yet stepped forward to run in the 6th District, Minnesota DFL State Party Chairman Ken Martin explaining a number of months ago that potential Democratic candidates were waiting to view the maps of the redrawn district.

Martin is unimpressed with Bachmann.

“Rep. Michele Bachmann has done absolutely nothing for the people of Minnesota’s 6th District in the last year. Since September 2011, she has missed over 90 percent of the votes in Congress,” said Martin in a statement today.

“Instead, she was flying around the country and catering to her Tea Party friends as part of her failed bid for president,” he said.

Obvious campaign liabilities for Bachmann include missed congressional votes and her many professions of love for another state, Iowa, she made as a presidential candidate.

But many political observers note the passion Bachmann generates in her supporters and their willingness to turn out for the congresswoman.

Bachmann found fault with Democratic President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address last night.

“President Obama’s State of the Union rhetoric called for ‘fairness’ but the reality is that this President is anything but fair. The President presented ideas tonight that demonstrate his willingness to pick winners and losers,” she said.